The pandemic has affected the way Canadians spend their money. As the population retreated inside their homes, the spending on essential goods like groceries increased. Spending on nonessential goods like clothes, gasoline, transportation, etc has fallen, as have their prices. This means, the pandemic also had an impact on the living cost in Canada.
Going forward, knowing how the prices are going to be affected will help you make wise financial decisions. For example, the housing cost is expected to fall by 7% in the coming months, so if you are planning to buy a house, then now would be a good time to invest.
While the average Canadian salary has increased on the national average, it is not consistent in all provinces and territories. Provinces like Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan have the highest average salaries out of all provinces in Canada. However, the living cost of these provinces is also comparatively higher.
Are you a foreign national who wants to visit, study or work in Canada for a temporary period? Do you want to take advantage of gaining Canadian work experience and a chance at obtaining permanent residence?
Here’s An Overview of the Cost of Living within Canada
Housing and Rent Cost Considerations:
The cost of living comes down to the most basic items. Housing and rent costs will depend on where you wish to live in Canada. Living in big metropolitan areas like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver can cost you a lot more than living in Atlantic Canada, for example. These cities are hubs for young professionals and immigrants, therefore, the housing cost is among the highest in Canada.
Living in Atlantic Canada, or the Prairie Province of Alberta will save you in terms of housing cost and rent.
Healthcare Cost Considerations:
Canada has a publicly funded healthcare system that provides up to 70% coverage to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents regardless of their socioeconomic background. This includes everything from doctor visits to Covid-19 treatments and other medical treatments. In addition, every province and territory offers its health insurance plan supervised by the federal government.
If you are planning to immigrate to Canada, then it helps if you review the health insurance plans offered by different provinces to make a wise decision as some will provide more coverage than others.
Canadians generally pay less for medicine overall as the inflation is curbed by the federal government regulating medicine prices. You can also obtain private health insurance in Canada. Almost 65% of Canadians have some form of private health insurance coverage subsidized by their employer.
